The Press., 1887-11-03
TRAPPING A BUsHwHACKER.

During the winter after Burnside's at- tack on Fredericksburg the entire front of his camp was beset by spies, guerillaa and bushwhackers, and cold-blooded murder was more fr quent occurrence than pick et-hring. My regiment was for a month stationed at blind ford up the Rappahan- mock, and while the confederate soldiers seemed willing enough to leave us alone, the bushwhackers determined to kill us of. These men were not always rebels and farmers. have no doubt that hun dreds of union soldiers were bushwhack- ed during the war by the haneers-on of our own army, and for the purpose of rob- bery.
 One of our river picket.posts was in a thick piece of woods. Here the reserve picket took up its quarters and sent men up and down the shore for a mile in either direction. The last post on our right flank would have connected with the last post on the left flank of New York regiment but for a strip of swamp about a quarter of mile wide, which thrust itself down to the river. This swamp was full of water at the time, and while no post could be maintained there 1t was believed no enemy could take advantage of it. We had not been on duty a week, however, when the man on that post for the middle of the night was found dead, stabbed to the heart. We had just beeu paid off before coming down, and as he had been robbed of his money his death was not laid to the confederates. Two nights later n second man was killed and robbed. For the next three nights two men were put on the post and all was quiet. Then one was taken of, and that same night the single man was killed.
 was at this time an orderly for the col onel of the regiment, and of course heard more or less of the headquarter talk over the bloody incidents. It was certain that no rebels had crossed the stream for tho sake of killing the picket on one single post, and there were no farmers inside our lines. It was reasoned, therefore, that some one about our own camp was the guilty wretch. He did not dare approach the post when there were two men, and while this doubling up might have pre- vented further murders the colonel was anxious to do something to trap the fel. low. heard him and two or three cap tains talking the matter, and at once asked to be detailed to the post. l had a scheme to work, and when it was unfolded 10 them it was agreed that I should have a chance to carry it out As a man had been killed the night before by a stab in the back, it
 
 nights and then let me go on alone. This gave me the chance to go over the ground, and I was not long in discovering that the supposed impossible sW amp could be easi. ly threaded. Indeed, I found plenty of proofs that some one had made his way across it several times in the same track, coming every time from the direction of the New York regiment.
 As every one of our men had been stab bed, reasoned that the assassin must be a sly and nervy fellow. At the picket-post was a large tree with branches which not only grew low down, but spread out and made good shelter from the bleak winds and snow-squalls. As near as I could come at it, all the men took up their posi- tions under this tree. The river was be- fore them, but they could not have seen ten feet into the woods behind. The noise of the wind among the dead leaves and branches would also serve to deaden other sounds around them. During the after noon of the night was to go on, got uniform down into the woods, stuffed it with straw, and when I went on duty I tied this sham man to the trunk of the tree with his back to the swamp Then climbed into the tree with a revolver in my hand and waited.
 went on at 10 o'clock and was not to be relieved before 2. Fortunately for my situation it was mild though cloudy evening, with the wind coming now and again in gusts. At such times a troop of horses could have come through the woods without my hearing them. did not de- pend on my sense of hearing at all, but with cooked revolver in hand sat on limb seven or eight feet above my dummy and watched him. It was just half-past eleven when suddenly made out dark mass on the ground creeping upon the dummy. had hardly seen it before it rose up and plunged a knife into the man of straw, striking him between the shoulders. At the moment opened fire, and kept it up until the revolver was empty. The un- known went down with the first bullet, but meant to kill him stout and sure.
 The men of the relief reused out at the firing and soon came up, and then we ex- amined my prlze by the light of lantern. The first bullet had hit him in the head and four others were in his body, and he was stone dead, with a big knife clasped in his hand. No one could say that they had ever seen him before. He was in citi- zen's dress and was supposed to be Q rebel, but next day we ascertained that he was q teamster belonging to the New York regi- ment on our right. He had deliberately gone into the work as a means of making money, and search of his pockets brought to light about S70 of the funds he had ac- cumulated in his cold -blooded murders The men were so enraged over the affair that it was with difficulty the officers could prevent them from iabbing their bayonets into the corpse and heaving it upon one of the camp p-hres.